NespressoCreatista Plus Espresso Machine by Breville, Damson Blue

So I have owned a lot of machines from a Nuova Simonelli Aurelia (world barista championship machine) which required a 20amp circuit installed at my house to a lot of the lower end machines like the Brevilles and Delonghi (not a fan of Delonghi). You never buy a pod machine to save money - you buy it to save time. I think they figured if you bought Nespresso brand coffee pods you're essentially paying around $50 or so dollars a pound which is crazy expensive. Yet when you compare the convenience of a good latte that costs you near a dollar with a $5-7 with tip coffee at starbucks, you're doing ok.So what do I think of this machine? I actually really like it. I can make a latte in the time it takes my other machine to warm up. This machine takes 3 seconds to go and my other machine - I need to grind, tamp and then it still takes my other machine roughly 30 seconds to heat up. It could probably make a few cups before my professional machine even warms up. I love doing things myself and enjoy the art of the grind, the tamp, adjusting for weather and knowing my skills but honestly sometimes I just want a quick, consistently good latte or flat white. The machine definitely delivers there. I love how hot it makes the shot, I love how adjustable everything is, and I love that I can make a coffee two minutes before a meeting. (I can't even get my other machines warmed up) I bought one for my work and brought it home and my wife loved it so much she asked me to leave it. I ordered another for my Dad because he loved mine so much I had to get him one. The settings that work for me are flat white - milk level 2, latte milk level 5, and cappuccino milk level 8. They closer to the real deal with those settings. Please don't judge my poor latte art - I was just trying a few with the machine and thought I would post them to show how close to the real thing you can come with this machine on the first go... I'm sure if I gave it a few tries - I could probably get them a bit more symmetrical. The point is - you can still have fun with it.So maybe you're wondering - does it match a full professional machine? First off - of course not - I can do a better shot, have more options, and can do a lot more with latte art and milk texture on a real machine. I can get a lot better and more authentic crema on a professional machine. On a professional machine I can choose exotic beans and experience crazy weird taste and half the fun of coffee is making it. (nespresso has quite a variety though which is worth trying - including some good third parties like Pete's, ect) That being said - It's not supposed to compete with a professional machine. It's a home machine under $500. We're talking a HUGE price difference to a professional machine which can range in the 10-15k range for a good one like the Aurelia. (And you still need to buy your Mazzer grinder for 1-2k!) it's a lot of work and expensive to own a professional machine. I also find I can waste more on a coffee machine - you need to drink enough to get through a bag of beans before they get past the first month of roast.So if you want a good machine, that makes decent espresso, and can do it consistently well, and extremely fast. I think this is an excellent addition to any home.

Quick & smart functioning. Looks perfect in my kitchen.

This was a Christmas present for myself after hearing about how delicious Nespresso coffee is. I went down an absolute rabbit hole of espresso makers and what the different types of coffee grinds, pulls, etc were. I was a little worried that Lungo wasn’t going to quite replace my morning coffee. I know Lungo may be considered laughable for the experienced coffee snob. But it is delish and hits the mark to replace my morning coffee. I have used both Lungo pods and espresso pods on the Lungo setting, and my peasant palate can’t really tell the difference. I’ll probably give espresso with an extra pull of hot water a try too. This is all to say that this little machine can do it all. It makes ristretto (very concentrated espresso for the coffee ignorant), espresso, Lungo, cappuccino, lattes and more (maybe). I’m really enjoying learning how this machine works while putting my nose a little more into the air ;)

I purchased my Breville espresso machine in november 2022, and it worked perfectly until recently. Unfortunately, when I needed technical support, I received no assistance at all. I tried contacting Breville through email, phone, and chat – but no one responded. It’s been over a month, and I still can’t use my machine.The product itself was great while it worked, but the lack of customer service is unacceptable. For that reason, I cannot recommend this purchase..

I've had a Nespresso Citiz machine for about 5 years now and it's been great. However, once I upgraded to the Creatista Plus espresso machine, I now know what I've been missing out on.1. This machine is crazy fast in heating up. I just have to wait a few seconds after I turn it on and it's ready to go.2. The water reservoir has a nice capacity: I'm not spending as much time refiling my water reservoir as with my prior machine.3. The selection dial and the display screen works great and it's easy to switch back and forth between espresso drinks (ristretto, espresso, lungo), and milk based drinks (flat white, cappuccino, latte).4. The milk frother works suprisingly well. There's a thermometer on the base where the milk frother sits so it's checking for the correct milk temperature. This means I don't need to babysit the milk while it's heating up and frothing.5. It's just a great looking machine in the kitchen, and seems more at home in my kitchen than my older Citiz model.Not really a lot to complain about. If there were half star increments in ratings maybe I would take a half star off for the volume for used pods... that may actually be smaller than my citiz model. But defensibly, by keeping the used pod container small, they add a pop put shelf to hold shorter espresso cups.

We love it.